22/06/2015 Bee-eaters x10 Littledene near Lewes, East Sussex

Monday 22 June 2015
Beddingham near Glynde, East Sussex

I had just finished my patch survey at Churlwood in the Ashdown Forest' and was heading home, when I got a call from Paul, alerting me to Bee-eaters seen just south of the A27 at the Littledene turnoff. 

When I arrived the birds were still there and showing brilliantly.  For almost an hour they put on an astonishing display before flying off, presumably to roost.  

• The views were better than those we had last year on the IOW; the birds were closer, the lighting was nigh on perfect and there were 10 or 11 of them.  They also came close enough for me to pick up their flight call. 

Bee-eaters on branch
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Bee-eaters in bush
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Bee-eater flying
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Bee-eater perched and close
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Bee-eater flying
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What a surprise ending to my day!  An exotic groups of birds right on my doorstep, producing one of those memorable "awe and wonder events"

 

 

Addition to BUBO UK 2015 Bird List:

Bee-eater   (229)

• The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae.

• It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia.

• It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its range, with occasional breeding in northwest Europe.

 

• This bird breeds in open country in warmer climates.

• As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps, and hornets.

21/06/2015 Terek Sandpiper at Church Norton near Chicheter in West Sussex.

Sunday 21 June 2015
Church Norton, Pagham Harbour, Chichester West Sussex

Just as I was about to do some gardening,  news came through on RBA of  a Terek Sandpiper at Church Norton.  Within minutes I was on my way to Chichester some 50 miles away - after all it would be another valuable "lifer" for me! 

The problem was I had to be back in time to go to Jen and Sara's home for a Fathers Day barbecue. It would be a tough call with the fine weather and lots of traffic on the road.

• The sandpiper was present when I arrived but it was below a bank on the edge of the water and out of sight.  We resigned ourselves to a long wait for the incoming tide to force the bird out into the open.

• After about 20 minutes it was attacked by a gull and flew 20 metres or so to the left giving me a brief sighting before it dropped down again. 



Terek Sandpiper
Library picture

• After another 20 minutes it made it's appearance on top of another bank before running some 20 metres or so, in full view, before stopping.  At last we were able to get some stunning views! 

Terek Sandpiper
Library picture

I was unable to stay very long and soon headed home to pick up Sue before proceeding to the barbecue - some 2 hours late!

What a lovely bird to find on the longest day of the year!

 

 

Addition to BUBO 2015 UK Bird List:

Terek Sandpiper   (228) 

 

Addition to BUBO  UK Bird Life List:

Terek Sandpiper   (293) 

 

 

 

 

•  The Terek sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) is a small migratory Palearctic wader species, the only member of the genus Xenus. It is named after the Terek River which flows into the west of the Caspian Sea, as it was first observed around this area.

 

• This bird breeds near water in the taiga from Finland through northern Siberia to the Kolyma River, and migrate south in winter to tropical coasts in east Africa, south Asia and Australia, usually preferring muddy areas. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe.

• An odd shorebird  with short legs and a long, upcurved bill. On a mudflat with other sandpipers, the Terek often draws attention by its animated behavior, running about more actively than the other birds.

 

 

19/06/2015 Acres Down Goshawks but no Honey Buzzards

Friday 19th June 2015
Acres Down, New Forest

After several unsuccessful attempts to find Honey Buzzards in the Ashdown Forest I decided to try my luck at Acres Down in the New Forest.  On a glorious sunny day I set off at 06.30 to beat the early morning traffic.

I stopped at Pagham Harbour, near Chichester, on the way down hoping to find one of the two Green Sandpipers that had been seen there recently.  Unfortunately there were none present so I decided to move on to Hampshire and return here on the way home.

At Acres Down I met a couple of guys, one of whom was a local birder and he told me he had a good sighting of a Honey Buzzard  the day before.  A Goshawk soon showed and during my four hour stay we saw several.  Common Buzzards were present in good numbers and we had excellent views of a Hobby.  The local birder even saw a distant Honey Buzzard but neither I or the other birder, from Salisbury, saw it.  Alas I had to accept defeat again and  mid-afternoon I set off for home.

On the return visit to the Ferry Pool I was in luck with one of the Green Sandpipers showing well.  At least I had a year tick to show for my efforts. 




Green Sandpiper
Library picture

A very enjoyable day at one of my favourite sites!



Addition to BUBO 2015 UK Bird List:
Green Sandpiper   (227)

15/06/2015 Nightjar at Hindleap

Monday 15th June 2015
Hindleap, Ashdown Forest

• One nightjar at Hindleap tonight.  Started churring at 22.00 and then seen 3 times between 22.10 and 22.20.

• 5 sightings of Woodcock from 21.00 to 22.00 

14/06/2015 Stodmarsh Visit with East Grinstead RSPB Group

Sunday 14th June 2015
RSPB Stodmarsh near Canterbury, Kent

10 members of the East Grinstead RSPB Group made the long journey into north east Kent to spend an enjoyable day at Stodmarsh.  Conditions were excellent with no wind and temperatures approaching 19C. 

The highlights included:-

• The target bird for the day was the Turtle Dove and we were lucky to get great views of one of the three known to be there.  The scope view of the one seen deep in the heart of a tree at the Grove Ferry end was quite superb and extensive.

• During lunch at the mound (viewpoint ) we were fortunate to enjoy 4 juvenile Bearded Tits as they flew around in front of us and then settled in the reeds barely 10 metres away.  Shortly afterwards we were given a repeat performance - much to the delight of all present.

• From the same point we also had the good fortune to find 2 close Cuckoo's in the trees 20 metres away.  We had heard them from the start of our visit and then caught sight of them but this was in a different league!  We had time to study all the ID features and enjoy the beauty of this species.

• From this same vantage point we were also given a rare treat of 5 or 6 Sedge Warblers displaying their elegance in the reeds directly in front of us.

• There were at least a couple of Hobbies showing high above us - always a pleasure to see.

• No trip to Stodmarsh would be complete without seeing the Marsh Harriers and this trip was no exception with several seen around the reserve.

A superb day out with a species count in excess of 50 - priceless!



Today's Species List:-

Gadwall

Shoveler

Mallard
Tufted Duck
Pochard
Great Crested Grebe
Cormorant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Marsh Harrier   (10)
Common Buzzard
Kestrel
Hobby
Water Rail heard
Moorhen
Coot
Lapwing
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull   (20)
Common Tern
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Turtle Dove
Cuckoo
Swift
Green Woodpecker
Skylark
Swallow   (30)
Pied Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock

Robin

Blackbird
Song Thrush
Cetti’s Warbler Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler Blackcap   (40)
Garden Warbler heard
Whitethroat
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Bearded Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Jay
Magpie   (50)
Carrion Crow
Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Goldfinch
Bullfinch

Reed Bunting

 

13/06/2015 Black-eared Wheatear at Acres Down in the New Forest

Saturday 13th June 2015
Acres Down, Hampshire

I spent the latter part of the morning looking for Honey Buzzards at the back of Old Lodge in the Ashdown Forest.  Needless to say I was having no success.  A text from Paul reminded me of the Black-eared Wheatear that had been sighted at Acres Down and prompted me to pack up, go home for lunch and then head off to Hampshire.  This bird would be a "lifer" for me if I was successful.

• The target bird was present and showing really well on one of the logs in the field in front of us.  This despite the message on RBA saying it was elusive!   The bird, a male, was absolutely stunning in its black and white plumage.  To the delight of all the birders watching from the woods it remained in place for what seemed an eternity, allowing everyone the chance to observe the ID features and/or take photographs.



Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
Library picture

This bird has a range from Southern Italy eastwards into Turkey and the Middle East.

• I even had time to continue looking for Honey Buzzards from the raptor viewing point here at Acres Down.  Again I had no luck but by way of compensation I did see a stunning Goshawk flying high over the trees some distance in front of us.

• There were several Woodlarks around - of course!

• I couldn't resist the chance to look for a Wood Warbler before I left so I retreated to the car park area and into the woods to the north.  Having taken advice I quickly found the stream and within minutes I heard the Wood Warbler calling and soon I got a clear sighting in the tree some 15 feet above me.  A lovely bird and a year tick to boot.

Wood Warbler
Library picture

Additions to BUBO 2015 UK Bird List:
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear   (225)
Wood Warbler   (226) 

Additions to BUBO UK Life List:
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear   (292)






You can never tell how the day will turn out in this birding life.  A "lifer" and a year tick in Hampshire after drawing blanks in the Ashdown Forest earlier in the day

12/06/2015 Staying Local in Ashdown Forest

Friday 12th June 2015
Ashdown Forest

• Tried looking once more for Honey Buzzards on the high ground overlooking my patch.  As previously, I drew a blank, managing only to see Common Buzzards.  I  relocated to Lintons, near the Forest Centre but was again unsuccessful.  One day soon I will find one and boy will I enjoy the moment!

• On my patch, while looking for Buzzards, I was accompanied, for the fourth day this week, by a lovely male Yellowhammer.  Almost certainly there is a nest nearby.  Herring Gulls dominated the skyline with Corvids, Woodpigeons and Common Buzzards playing a supporting role.

Yellowhammer
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Nightjars continue to thrive in the forest. I have now seen them at 4 different locations. 

• Tonight, with the SOS at the Old Airstrip for example, we saw two and heard a third churring in the distance towards the Wych Cross intersection.  The views were excellent with one in particular of the bird perched on the top of a bare tree, singing it's heart out. 



Nightjar
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• Also seen tonight were Stonechats, a Linnet and Redpolls.

• A notable absentee was the Woodcock, although we had one here earlier in the week.  It's not very often you see more Nightjars than Woodcock but that is likely to be the case here. 

• Anyone wanting to see Woodcock and Nightjar should go to Hindleap where 10 Woodcock were seen earlier in the week - but only one Nightjar, albeit offering magnificent views. 

Nightjar
Library picture

Not much to show for my efforts this week but I have really enjoyed myself. 

09/06/2015 Hudsonian Whimbrel at Church Norton, West Sussex.

Tuesday 9th June 2015
Church Norton, Pagham Harbour nr Chichester

Out of the blue, mid afternoon, came news of a probable Hudsonian Whimbrel in Sussex at Church Norton.  Soon afterwards this was upgraded to a definite sighting and I was on my way.  After all, this was the first ever sighting in Sussex  of this American version of our Whimbrel!

From what little I had read about this species I knew I would need to see it flying to check it's rump and tail.  It should be completely brown whereas the European Whimbrel would have a large expanse of white on the lower back.


Incredibly, just as I got there, the bird was flying across the water away from us and I could see clearly that it was completely brown!  Worries over - I had my first ever Hudsonsian Whimbrel!





Hudsonian Whimbrel
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European Whimbrel
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It landed on the other side of the estuary along with some gulls, Oystercatchers and, fortunately, 2 European Whimbrels which was convenient for making comparisons between the two species. 

The other major difference between the Whimbrels was the striking head pattern of the Hudsonian. The head is paler than the Eurasian Whimbrel with stronger contrast between the almost white  supercillium and the very dark head and eye stripes.

Hudsonian Whimbrel
Library picture

What a find!

Addition to BUBO UK 2015 Bird List:
Hudsonian Whimbrel   (224)

Addition to BUBO UK Life List of UK Birds:
Hudsonian Whimbrel   (291)  only 9 more new species to find!



 

09/06/2015 Ashdown Forest Patch Report

Honey Buzzards
I have conducted 3 watches so far, all unsuccessful, 2 on my patch and 1 overlooking Gills Lap.

Red Kite
I was delighted to see a Red Kite fly over my patch yesterday morning - the first one I have seen here.

Nightjars

• I have seen Nightjars every time I have been out but only singles.  There was a female 2 weeks or so ago and males since then. 

• The activity has been much less than previous years with the males only churring for a short time then disappearing.

• The good news is I have seen them at 4 different locations on the forest.

Woodcock
There have been lots of these at Hindleap.  Last night I had ten sightings between 9pm and 10 pm

06/06/2015 In France for the day! Night Heron Chicks, White Storks etc.

Saturday 6th June 2015
Northern France with Andrew and Christine

Andrew organised one of his regular trips to northern France. On a glorious sunny day we left his house at 05.45, picking up Christine on the way before boarding the 07.20 train from Ashford for the 30 minute crossing to Calais.  We then headed south for just over an hour to reach Bonnelle our first stop.

Things were really quiet at Bonnelle and nearby Sailly Bray so we decided to move on to the Crecy Forest to look for Honey Buzzards, one of our target birds for today.  


We enjoyed a 45 min stop at Régnière-Lock where several Buzzards showed but, with the exception of one which may have been a Honey Buzzard, they were all the familiar common variety.



Our final destination was Le Parc du Marquenterre, one of our favourite nature reserves.



Route Map
Library picture

There were several highlights here:-

• the most interesting one was of some Night Heron chicks in a nest high in the tree where the White Storks, the Spoonbills, the Little Egrets and the Cattle Egrets were nesting



Night Heron Chicks
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• there were scores and scores of White Storks around and we had terrific views of them in flight as well as on the nests.

White Stork
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White Stork
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• Spoonbills too were abundant, although not quite as many as the storks.

Spoonbill
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• There were at least 4 Black-winged Stilts on the pools along with the Black-tailed Godwits and other common waders.



Black-winged Stilt
Library picture




 

There were too many people on the reserve.  The good weather had brought them out in their droves and not many were birders.  It meant our chances of seeing the Bluethroat or the Golden Oriole or the Crested Tit were much reduced.  Had we been able to get here early on a weekday then I would have been confident of seeing these rarities.  Something to look forward to on a future visit.



List of birds present:
Kestrel
Little Egret
Turtle Dove
Green Woodpecker
Woodpigeon
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Buzzard
Stonechat
Coal Tit   (10)
Lapwing
Cattle Egret
Carrion Crow
Starling Wren
Cetti's Warbler
Blackcap
Marsh Warbler (heard only)
Mallard
Sedge Warbler
Collared Dove   (20)
Cuckoo
House Martin
Swallow
House Sparrow
Greenfinch
White Wagtail
Whitethroat
Black-winged Stilt
White Stork
Black-tailed Godwit   (30)
Avocet
Black-headed Gull
Shelduck
Great-white Egret
Spoonbill
Tufted Duck
Moorhen
Oystercatcher
Mute Swan
Swift   (40)
Willow Warbler
Night Heron
Rook


A smashing day out, in another country, with friends - just what I needed! 

And all for  an outlay of £30 per person.

05/06/2015 On my patch Hobby's, Cuckoo but no Honey Buzzard

Friday 5th June 2015
Ashdown Forest

The expected bad weather did not materialise so I took the opportunity to go looking for Honey Buzzards on my patch in the Ashdown Forest.  With a temperature of 23C and quite humid conditions I spent a very pleasant 3 hours on an elevated position overlooking a wooded valley below me. 

• Although I did not see the target bird I did manage to get several views of Hobby's, with at least 2 different birds present.  I also heard a Cuckoo and several Blackcaps.  Sue from the Ashdown Group joined me for a while and she heard and then we saw a Whitethroat.

• I made lots of sightings of Buzzards, with at least 4 different birds around.  Alas non of them were Honey Buzzards.

Bad weather today - where ?

04/06/2015 Enjoying the warm summer weather - Falcon, Hobby, Woodcock and Nightjars

Thursday 4th June 2015

• At Groombridge this morning we saw a Hobby for the first time on our disused south east water patch. 

• This afternoon I went back to see the Red-footed Falcon at Barcombe,  taking Alan and Shaun (East Grinstead RSPB Group) with me.  In sharp contrast to my last visit on Sunday, when the bird was perched for long periods of time, this time the falcon delighted us with a magnificent aerial display for well over 30 minutes.




Red-footed Falcon
Library picture

• Tonight at Hindleap and then on my patch at Churlwood, I was able to observe Nightjars going about their usual crepuscular routines.  Woodcock showed well at Hindleap where we also heard a Tawny Owl and saw a Tree Pipit, Stonechats and a Whitethroat.

All this and bright sunshine to boot.

Summer may finally have started!

03/06/2015 3 Turtle Doves at Knepp Estate

Wednesday 3rd June 2015
Knepp Estate, West Sussex

I joined Paul and 6 others for our annual Turtle Dove visit to Knepp.  After parking in the village car park at Shipley we headed for the southern section of the estate.  

• We soon found our first dove sitting peacefully on a bare branch of a tree some 25 feet up from the ground.  After manoeuvering around to avoid the glare of the bright sunshine we enjoyed great views.  Eventually we had to move on with the bird still in place.

• The next sighting, this time 2 Turtle Doves, was on the return leg of the walk by the hammer pond.  One of the doves was again sitting out on an exposed branch of the tree while the other was flying around.

• Other birds seen included several Ravens, a Cuckoo, lots of Buzzards, a Jay, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese and  Great-crested Grebes.  The Nightingales were still in fine voice.  Alas we did not see any Red Kites.

• Also seen were several Roe Deer, a large grass snake, long-horn cattle, horses and lots of rabbits.

• After the recent bout of poor weather it was nice to return to warm summer evenings walking with friends in pleasant surroundings. 

• Once again Knepp has proved to be the premier place in Sussex for spotting Turtle Doves! 

01/06 2015 Greater Yellowlegs!

Monday 1st June 2015 
Titchfield Haven NR, Hampshire

Finally made the return trip to Titchfield Haven NR in Hampshire to see the Greater Yellowlegs.  Last time (in January) I narrowly missed the bird but this time I was more successful. 

After parking in the Bridge Street car park, I took the footpath south on Posbrook Flood by the canal to the southerly point on the water and looked for the bird at SU541046 as per Rare Bird Alert . 

• After a short period the Greater Yellowlegs showed well among the Black-tailed Godwits.  I then enjoyed uninterrupted views of this splendid species.

Greater Yellowlegs
Library picture

Greater Yellowlegs
Library picture

• The Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) is a large North American shorebird, similar in appearance to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the Greenshank, which together with the Spotted Redshank form a close-knit group.

• They migrate to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and south to South America. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe.

• These birds forage in shallow water, sometimes using their bills to stir up the water. They mainly eat insects and small fish, as well as crustaceans and marine worms.

Addition to BUBO UK 2015 Bird List:
Greater Yellowlegs   (223)


Addition to BUBO UK Bird  Life List:
Greater Yellowlegs   (291)

I was really pleased and mightily relieved to finally see this rare bird.  A "lifer" too!